An Absolute Beginner's Guide to 8-Bit AVR Programming-AVR Dragon

If you’d like to test the waters of microcontroller programming, the new AVR Dragon by Atmel Corporation is a nifty, low-cost entry-level development tool. Unfortunately, right out of the box, the AVR Dragon is not the definitive answer for the beginner looking for an all-in-one solution. Rather, the AVRDragon is a great microcontroller programmer foundation, but it is seriously lacking in enabling the beginner to hit the ground running.What is an AVR?
An AVR is a relatively inexpensive user-programmable microprocessor that can be integrated into just about any project that needs a brain. Unlike most computer/electronics terms, decoding the AVR acronym is tricky. While some Atmel AVR devotees will claim that it doesn’t have a definition others will state with a straight face that it isn’t even an acronym. Some microcontroller programmers think that AVR is derived from the initials of the engineers who designed the AVR–Alf & Vegard + RISC. After extensive research, however, the most believable definition could be: AVR = Advanced Virtual RISC.Enter the AVR Dragon
Whether it’s a marketing lapse or a brilliant design configuration feature, beginners should be aware that Atmel Corporation does not include several vital pieces of equipment in the AVR Dragon box.

Key Features

Supports up to 3 hardware program breakpoints or 1 maskable data breakpoint (depending on the OCD mo

Yes, the AVR Dragon is USB-powered and yes, there is a free programming application that can be used with the AVRDragon; but, you will need to provide your own USB cable and you will have to download the latest version of AVR Studio from the Atmel Web site.
Furthermore, you will be required to solder several components to the AVR Dragon to enable it to work with the widest variety of 8-bit AVR products. These components enable the budding AVR user to program and emulate many of the products in the AVR device family. A properly configured AVR Dragon offers these programming interfaces:

In-System Programming

High Voltage Serial Programming

Parallel Programming

JTAG Programming

As well as these emulation interfaces:

JTAG

debugWIRE

Still the nagging question for the beginner is what components do I need for making the AVR Dragon easy to use?

Step 2 It’s in There, Somewhere

Atmel does include a brief mention about configuring the AVR Dragon inside its online help with AVR Studio 4. Unfortunately, they don’t offer any help for determining the best components for obtaining this flexible configuration capability.
In order to review Atmel’s AVR Dragon hardware configuration information, select AVR Tools User Guide under the Help menu. Inside the chapter AVRDragon Prototype Area and under the section Using the Onboard Prototype Area near the bottom of this section there is a brief mention of adding a 20-pin header, a 40-pin header, and a 40-pin zero insertion force socket (ZIF) for making the AVR Dragon “even more flexible.”
For more details, click: An Absolute Beginner’s Guide to 8-Bit AVR Programming-AVR Dragon